Latest News Stories

Philip Minaker: "In fashion, this season is clearly about closing one chapter and opening another one."

Rather than just turning a page in the ever-evolving Fashion Industry there is a brand new chapter about to unfold in the coming seasons. It begins this Spring, with the deconstruction of the tried and true silhouettes that have been the norm for some time. Incorporating the increasingly mix of various trends into one cohesive look by consumers has also blurred the boundaries of conventional thinking. Stereotypical looks are falling by the wayside.
The approach to modern dressing has become m

A sign of the times: Bob Leahy talks with CAS ED Gary Lacasse on the impact of funding cuts which will also see the national agency further downsize on April 1

The announcement came as no surprise to anyone following recent developments in the HIV movement in Canada. “Unfortunately, with the significantly changing landscape of the HIV movement (including massive cuts to government funding for HIV/AIDS community-based organizations), we will not be holding a 2018 forum due to financial constraints” said the email from CAS ED Gary Lacasse. “We have worked tirelessly in order to secure funding but as of yet have not been successful because no fund

Bob Leahy has been diagnosed with HIV for 25 years and actively involved in HIV work for all of that time. Aging, though, brings constraints and thoughts of when to get off the merry-go-round. Is this the time?

I think it was reaching 70 that did it. My energy seemed to be less and my eyesight and hearing both weren’t what they were. I needed shorter days, less stress. More than ever I was aware of my potential to make a difference, but also of my limitations. And I started to think how much longer I could do this work?
My work, like many of yours, is a mixture of excitement and drudgery. The excitement comes from things like attending conferences, travelling the world and being part of changing t

From Kenya, Kimutai Kemboi on self stigma and the healthy benefits of disclosure

As people living with HIV, we go through a series of challenges, one after the other. Testing positive is a big issue and as we try to cope with the situation another life threatening issue arises; stigma.
Stigma sounds like a simple word but it is intense enough to take someone's life. It is an 'opportunistic infection' on its own that can only heal on bold people or those people who can take the bull by its own horns. The weak souls will find it hard to fight.
As we know, stigma comes in t

13 March 2018 – The International AIDS Society (IAS) has announced that San Francisco, California, in partnership with nearby Oakland, will host the 23rd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020) but that decision has already drawn fire.
While the decision was hailed by Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi as “fitting and deeply inspiring”, a letter released today by every major national network of people living with HIV in the U.S., along with other organizations and individuals calls

From CATIE blog, Brittany Neron and Makeda Zook blog about "Beyond the Basics", a sex ed curriculum companion resource that doesn't use fear- and risk-based messaging

Sex education is a largely stigmatized and often politically volatile subject, even though access to comprehensive sexuality education is enshrined in international law as a human right.
The standard of sex ed that is taught across Canada is uneven, and even when it is scientifically accurate, it is often delivered in a risk- and fear-based way, particularly when it comes to teaching young people about safer sex and sexual transmitted and blood borne infections (STBBIs).
Fear- and risk-base

"... researchers indicated that time from schizophrenia diagnoses to death was significantly short for those with HIV than those without." From MD Mag, Kevin Kunzmann reports.

There is a six-fold prevalence of schizophrenia in people with HIV than that of the population without the virus, according to the results of a Vancouver, BC, Canada-based study. The study, presented at the 25th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Boston, MA, this week, found a distinct association between the mental disorder and HIV — a relationship sparsely analyzed before. Researchers from the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver,

From CATIE, Sean R. Hosein reports on a Vancouver study aiming to find out about the degree of exposure to fentanyl among people who use street drugs.

- British Columbia researchers analyzed urine samples of 669 people who used street drugs
- 15% of all participants had been exposed to the extremely powerful opioid fentanyl
- Exposure to fentanyl was higher among those who inject drugs
In the past several years, deaths from opioid overdose have increased in Canada and the U.S. In Canada the increase in deaths was initially reported in British Columbia and then spread to neighbouring Alberta and other parts of Canada. British

A study presented at the recent 25th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2018) aims to quantify how many people with HIV there might be in the community who both have a detectable HIV viral load and also have significant resistance to tenofovir and emtricitabine, the two drugs currently used in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
The researchers, from the University of Washington in Seattle, found that in King County, which contains Seattle, no more than 0.3% of the l

Barbie released dolls celebrating diverse leaders for International Women’s Day and New York guy Félix Garmendía says the idea is "absolutely brilliant."

I heard yesterday about the new Barbie collection. I am not particularly a toy enthusiast but a friend posted this new Barbie collection on my Facebook page. The reason why my friend posted it on my page is because this new collection, consists of 17 inspiring women. From all the inspiring women chosen, Frida Kahlo, my favorite artist, is one of them.
Frida Kahlo and her doll
The posting produced a few comments from some of my friends. Very interesting observations that raised questions

From Kenya, Kimutai Kemboi on the many benefits of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART).

I must say having a talk with Sammy (as I said, not his real name) was one of the most interesting discussion I have ever had with anyone. His questions were endless, as each response gave rise to more questions but I was happy coz everything he asked was very relevant.
Sammy: This is very interesting. So you mean an undetectable person can be in an intimate relationship with a negative person without posing a threat to him or her?
Kemboi: (looking at my cup of tea) Just a minute Sammy, my t

From AIDSmap, Michael Carter and Keith Alcorn report on the Rakai Community Cohort Study.

The rate of new HIV infections has halved since 2011 in a Ugandan community following large increases in male circumcision, antiretroviral treatment and viral suppression, Frank Kagaayi of the Rakai Health Sciences Program told the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston on Tuesday.
Dr Kagaayi was presenting results from the Rakai Community Cohort Study, focusing on repeat surveys of one fishing village with a very high prevalence and incidence of HIV infection. The

Isaac D. Joseph on living with HIV and depression.

“Now if there's a smile on my face it's only there trying to fool the public…But don't let my glad expression give you the wrong impression… Like a clown I appear to be glad…But ain't too much sadder than the tears of a clown when there's no one around – Smokey Robinson
The saddest kind of sad is when your tears can’t even fall and you feel nothing. Your world has ended, you don’t cry, you don’t speak, you don’t hear, you don’t see. You just stay there sunken and hollow an